Sole pressing means and method of making shoes



Dec. 17, 1935. 5 J NN 2,024,154

SOLE PRESSING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING SHOES v Filed Aug. 14, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 17, 1935. 5 J, N 2,024,154

SOLE PREISSING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed Aug. 14, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5. //V\ f/V TU/L 9% 2 m mm Patented Dec. 17, 1935PATENT oFFICE SOLE PRESSING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Sidney J.Finn, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,-Paterson, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey Application August 14,1931, Serial No. 556,996

25 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of shoemaking and particularly tomethods and apparatus for pressing and shaping the bottoms of shoes.

In one system of shoemaking' in commonu se, pressure is applied to theshoe bottom, that is,.to the outsole, by means of a flexible diaphragmwhich is pressed against the shoe bottom by fluid pressure, the shoe andsole being provided with suitable cement to insure the permanentattachment of the'sole to the shoe under this pressure and without theuse of other fastenings. In the use of this system, the shoes arerequired to remain under pressure a considerable time for the cement to"become thoroughly set, and, in order to provide a suitable factor ofsafety, the shoes are often left under pressure for a time after thecement has set. Frequently, because of the flexibility of "thediaphragm, the considerable pressure applied through it to the solev ofthe shoe, and the length of time that the shoe remains under pressure,the irregularities of the surface of the shoe to which the sole isapplied are reproduced, to an extent, on the outer surface of the sole.It is also difiicult so to control the flexibility of the diaphragm thatthe margin of the sole will not be bent up at the'forepart more than isdesired for some kinds of shoes.

Objects of this invention are to impart to the shoe sole while thecement is setting the exact shape desired for the sole of the finishedshoe and to avoid the necessity of further shaping of the shoe soleafter the cement has set.

Further objects of this invention are to provide a method and apparatuswhereby it is possible to produce, on right and left shoes andthroughout a run of sizes, shoe bottoms which, except for size and rightand left. characteristics, are practically identical and of thecharacter presented by a given sample.

It should be noted that the method and apparatus of this invention areequally applicable 'whether the final shape is imparted to the sole as apart of the cement sole attaching operation or whether the final shapeis imparted to the sole as a separate operation afterthe sole has beenpreviously secured to the shoe by means other than cement.

A feature of the invention consists in a mold or matrix of semi-rigid,resilient material having its shoe engaging face shaped to the contourit is desired to impart to the shoe bottom. The

.portions of said mold which engage the margin of the shoe bottom may beless rigid inresponse to pressure than the central portion. Asillustrated, the marginal portions of mold are reed shoe. Preferably,the semi-rigid material of the mold is resilient so that the overmoldedportion can yield under the sole conforming pressure and will re-assumeits initial overmolded contour upon release of the pressure. As setforth herein,

the matrix or mold, which has one face shaped 5 substantially tocorrespond to the shape it is desired to impart to the shoe bottom, maybe made from a sheet of hard rubber in a high state of vulcanization orof porous hard rubbenpreferably provided with non-porous surfaces. Inanother aspect, the invention consists of a shoe press having a shoeholder,a dilatable pad, and a sole engaging member, illustrated hereinas a mold or matrix, to be located between the sole and the pad, saidmember being sufflciently rigid to prevent the latter from conforming tothe lesser irregularities of the shoe bottom and yet suflicientlyflexible to be conformable under pressure of the dilatable member to theshoe bottom as a whole so that it will assume the longitudinal andtransverse curvatures of different shoes of the same style.

In another aspect the invention consists in a method of shaping shoebottoms which comprises applying a replica, formed in semi-rigid mateasrial and having the shape which it is desired to impart to a shoebottom, to the sole of the shoe, and then pressing the replica againstthe shoe bottom to cause the shape of the replica to be imparted to theshoe sole. Preferably the pres- 40 sure applied tothe margin of the soleis greater than that applied to its central portion.

Preferably. the moldable material from which the replica is made is suchthat it can be softened by heat so that it will respond to pressure ofthe form andwhen cool will retain the shape imparted to it. Preferablyalso the material'is semi-rigid and resilient so that it can befi'fiexedslightly underpressure either longitudinally or transversely to enableit to confo b more accurately to the bottoms of shoes whichit oughintended to be identical, may have slight variations due to non-,uniformityof the materials from which they are ing sufllcient to causeit to return to its initial shape when the pressure is released.Celluloid is another example of suitable material from which the replicamay be molded.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully fromthe following description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a model shoe the form of the bottom ofwhich is to be reproduced in other shoesi this figure may also be usedto represent other shoes treated in accordance with the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a lasted shoe ready to have a solecemented thereto;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sole prepared for application to theshoeshown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away and-in section, of amold or matrix embodying the "present invention and having its upperface contoured to correspond to the shape it is desired to impart to ashoe bottom; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of sole pressing apparatus, the shoeand the shoe holding means being shown in side elevation.

While various methods may be employed for producing a semi-rigid mold ormatrix having a sole engaging surface that corresponds to a given sampleshoe and'for duplicating, reversing and grading such forms to providefor a run of shoe sizes and for rights and lefts, the followingillustrative'example of a practicalmethod is given:

A sample shoe, for example a sample right shoe as illustrated in Fig. 1,will be made, which shoe has its sole untrimmed but the bottom of whichhas been shaped or leveled," and also, if necessary, beaten out andbuffed down by hand or otherwise to the exact contour which themanufacturer desires to reproduce indefinitely in rights and lefts andin a run of sizes, particular attention being given, of course, to theshaping of the shank and forepart.

This sample shoe cannot be used directly to shape by pressure a form foruse in shaping other soles because it is not sufficiently rigid towithstand the pressure required without destroying the fine lines anddelicate characteristics which have been imparted to it and which it isdesired to reproduce not only in other right shoes but also in leftshoes and in a run of sizes. Therefore, an intaglio replica. of thebottom of the shoe is made by pressing the shoe into molding sand or bymaking a cast of it in plaster-of- Paris. Thus, without distortion ofthe shape of the shoe bottom, its shape is reproduced in the sand orplaster. From this intaglio sand or plaster mold a plaster cast is madewhich faithfully reproduces the shape of the sand or plaster mold andhence represents the original shoe bottom.

Preferably the bottom of this plaster form is slightly reduced about theperipheral margins at locations and to an amount suflicient so that ifthis plaster form could be used to impart by pressure its shape to ablank of materials suitable for a shoe bottom pressing mold or matrixthe resulting intaglio impressions would be like the impression made bythe shoe except that the margins thereof formed by the reduced portionof the male form, would be slightly lifted so that they would engage theshoe first and apply pressure to the shoe first about its peripherybefore the center portion came into bearing. Since, however, thisplaster form is not strong enough and lefts.

for such use, it is employed to make in plaster a female mold whichcorresponds to the shape of the shoe bottom desired, except that themargins of the mold are somewhat overmolded; that is, the transversecurvature of the mold, especially at 5 its margins, is slightly greaterthan that of the sample shoe. From this plaster mold a cast is made instrong rigid material, for example Woods metal. This metal form isutilized as a pattern in a last lathe from which wooden duplicates areturned in a run of sizes and in rights Last lathes suitable for thispurpose are disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,733,207,granted October 29, 1929, on application of Ryan and Burke, and inUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,860,723, granted May 31, 1932, uponthe application of George F. Ryan. Thus, a series of wooden forms of therequired sizes and rights and lefts are provided each of which has thebottom characteristics of the go sample shoe plus the overmolding asdescribed. To produce from this series of wooden forms intaglio orfemale molds or matrices for use in shaping shoe bottoms, each isused asfollows: A sheetof material as large as the bottom of the g5 mold isprovided, the material being preferably of a nature which can berendered moldable by heat and become substantially rigid and preferablyresilient when cool.' This sheet is heated and placed in a suitablepress on a yielding support, for example, in a machine of the typedisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,549,243, granted August11, 1925, on applicationof E. E. Winkley. Theform is then pressed intothe material sufficiently to form therein an intaglio u impressioncorresponding to the shoe bottom shape'plus the overmold.

While various semi-rigid materials'which can be rendered responsive topressure by heat may be employed for forming the matrices such, for 40example, as balata and celluloid or pyroxylin,

I have found porous hard rubber to be best suited for the purpose. Thismaterial can readily be obtained commercially in sheets one quarterofan'inch thick and having thin, non-porous sur- I face layers, theinterior portion, however, being quite porous and similar to spongerubber but having a higher degree of vulcanization so that it isresilient'and semi-rigid when cold but when heated is moldableunder'pressure into the shape of the shoe bottom without alteration ofits cellular structure and retains the molded shape when cool.

The sheet of material is then removed and preferably trimmed tosubstantially the sole size, 58 the impression therein serving toindicate the line to which it should be trimmed. After trimming, themargin of the sole-shaped matrix is preferably reduced in thickness onthe side which does not engage the sole to form a beveled mar- 00 ginalportion. This reduction of the margin, of course, renders the margin ofthe matrix more easily flexed and responsive to pressure than theremainder of the matrix. Similar matrices are made from the other woodenforms to produce 05 a series of molds or matrices in rights and leftsand in a run of sizes. One of the series of matrices 10 is illustratedin Fig. 4 in which the reduced margin is indicated at l2.

These molds, while well adapted for general use in shaping shoe bottoms,are of special utility in connection with the manufacture of composhoes, that is, shoes in which cement such as pyroxylin cement is reliedupon permanently to secure the shoe and sole together without the 18 useof other fastening means. In the manufacture ofsuch shoes it isnecessary to maintain the shoe and sole pressed together underconsiderable pressure (sixty or seventy pounds to the square inch) for aconsiderable length of time, for example about half an hour, while thecement sets. This pressure is usually produced by forcing a flexiblediaphragm against the shoe bottom by fluid pressure. Under suchconditions the irregularities of the sole-receiving surface or bottom ofthe lasted shoe are apt to be reproduced to an objectionable degree onthe exposed face of the sole. However, by utilizing a mold or matrixmade as above described and embodying.

the present invention between the shoe sole and the flexible diaphragm,a shoe bottom may be produced which is free from the blemishes incidentto prior methods but which also has reproduced therein all thecharacteristics of the bottom of the sample shoe which it is desired toreproduce in other shoes.

The method of using the matrices I0 is illustrated in Fig. 5 where apad' box l4 having a flexible diaphragm l6 and shoe holding meanscomprising a toe pad l8 and a heel rest 20 for the last are shown. Thisapparatus may be similar to that disclosed in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,897,105, granted February 14, 1933, on anapplication flled in the name of Milton H. Ballard. A shoe 22 isprepared as usual, corresponding to the model shoe shown in Fig. 1 andhaving the overlasted margin of its upper 24 roughened and coated withcement which has been allowed to dry (Fig. 2). A sole 25 (Fig. 3),preferably molded to fit the last bottom, has its margin 28 roughenedand coated with cement which has also been allowed to dry. A suitablesolvent is then applied to the shoe or sole, or both, and the soleplaced on a suitable matrix H! positioned on the diaphragm l6 of thesole press. The shoe 22 is placed on the sole 26 and held thereon by theholding means l8 and 20. Fluid pressure is then applied to the diaphragml6 by upward movement of a plunger 30 which lifts a door-like member 32in the bottom of a casing 34 and causes liquid in the casing to pressupwardly uniformly on all portions of the diaphragm Hi. This pressureacts through the matrix ID to impart the shape of the matrix to the shoebottom. The marginal portions l2 of the matrix M, yield to the appliedpressure sufflciently toinsure the applicationof the greatest. pressure.

to the peripheral portion of the shoe bottom where the cement islocated,the semi-rigidimatrix i0 yielding sufllciently as a wholetoconform to the longitudinal curvature of the shoe bottom as much asmay be required to conform the sole to a shoe bottom intended to'beidentical with that of the sample shoe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A mold or matrix for pressing shoe bottoms formed of semi-rigidmaterial and having portions thereof which engage extreme marginalportions only of the sole about the forepart thereof more yielding andhence more conformable to the shoe bottom under pressure than thecentral portion.

2. A mold or matrix for pressing shoe bottoms formed of semi-rigidmaterial marginal portions of which throughout the shank and forepartare continuous but are less rigid in response to pressure than thecentral portion and hence more easily conformable to the shape of theperiphery of the shoe bottom.

3. A mold or matrix for pressingshoe bottoms formed of semi-rigidresilient material and having thin margins to render the marginalportion I more conformable to the shoe bottom under pressure than thecentral portion, said mold, because of its resiliency, assuming itsinitial shape when the pressurais removed. v

4. A mold or matrix for pressing shoe bottoms 10 formed of semi-rigidmaterial and having marginal portions thereof overmolded to insurecontact of marginal portions-.of the matrix with the sole prior tocontact of theji central portion therewith when the mold is prssed uponthe sole of l a shoe. f.

5. A mold or matrix for pressing shoe bottoms formed of hard rubber andhaving marginal portions thereof overmolded tofj insure contact ofmarginal portions of the matrix with the sole I prior to contact. of thecentral portionthere- I thickness sufllciently rigid-to prevent it fromconforming to the lesser irregularities of the shoe bottom and yetsufficiently resilient to be conformable as a whole to, variations inthe l0ngl-. tudinal and transverse-"curvatures ofdiiferent shoes of thesame style.

7. A mold for pressing shoe bottoms, saidmold having asubstantiallysmooth'sole engag n sur- I face and being formed ofthermoplastic sheet material suiliciently hard and rrigid to prevent itfrom conforming to the 'less er'irregularities of the shoe bottom andyetsuflioiently resilient to be conformable as -aiwhole to variations inthe longi- 40 tudinal and'transverse curvatures of the bottoms ofdiiferentslioes of the same styler 8. Afshoe pressing device comprisinga. sheet of. materialfperipherally shaped like a shoe sole and having'its sole engaging face. contoured to 45 correspond to the surface it isdesired to impart tog the shoe sole by pressure of the device againstthe :bottomof the shoe, said device being oversheet of celluloid'havingits sole engaging face contoured to correspond to the surface it isdesired to impart tothe shoe sole by pressure of 55 the device againstthe bottom of the shoe, said device being overmolded at those portionswhere it engages the marginal portions of the shoe sole to cause saidpressure to be intensified atthe margins of the shoe sole.

10. A shoe press comprising a shoe holder, 9. dilatable pad, a soleengaging member shaped peripherally to correspond to the shape and sizeof a shoe sole, said member being of substantially rigid but resilientmaterial, and means for .dilat- 65 ing the pad.

11. A shoe press comprising a shoe holder. 1 dilatable pad, a celluloidsole.-;engaging member shaped peripheralh to correspond in shape andsize to a shoe sole, and means for dilating the 70 pad.

12. A shoe press comprisingfatshoe holder, a dilatable pad, and a soleengaging member made of porous hard rubber, said member having its shoeengaging surface molded to a shape corre- 13 sponding substantially tothe shape it is desired to impart to the shoe sole.

13. A shoe press comprising a shoe holder, a dilatabie pad, a soleengaging niember sufficiently rigid to prevent it from conforming to thelesser irregularities of the shoe bottom and yet sufliciently flexibleto be conformable as a'whole to variations in the longitudinal andtransverse curvatures of difl'erent shoes'of the same style, and meansfor dilating the pad.

14. A shoe press comprising a shoe holder, a dilatable pad, and a soleengaging member shaped peripherally to correspond'to the shoe sole andhaving its marginal portion reduced .to render said portionimoreflexible than the central portion.

15. A shoe press comprising a shoe holder, a dilatable pad, and acelluloid sole engaging member shaped peripherally to correspond to theshape of the shoe sole 'and having its marginal portion reduced torender said portion more flexible than the central portion.

16. A shoe press comprising a shoe'holdena dilatable pad, and a soleengaging member shaped peripherally to correspond to the shoe sole andhaving its marginal portion reduced and beveled to a thin edge to renderthe marginal portion yielding relatively to the central portion.

1'7. A sole pressing device comprising a sheet of hard rubber having aporous interior, said sheet being shaped on one face tocorrespondto theshape of a shoe bottom.

18. A sole pressing device comprising a sheet of porous hard rubber, oneof the faces of said sheet being non-porous and shaped to correspondsubstantially to the shape of a shoe bottom.

19. A sole pressing device comprising a sheet of celluloid one face ofwhich is shaped to conform substantially to and receive the sole of ashoe with the concavity of its marginal portion slightly exaggerated ascompared to the convexity of the shoe bottom, the opposite face of saidsheet being beveled peripherally to provide a thin edge."

20. A sole pressing device comprising a sheet of porous hard rubberhaving non-porous faces, one of said faces being shaped to correspondsub-' stantially to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of a shoebottom, the transverse curvature being slightly in excess of thetransverse curvature of the shoe bottom and the sheet being sumcientlyresilient to adapt itself: under pressure to slight variations in thelongitudinal curvature of different shoes of similar style.

21. 'A shoe press comprising shoe holding means, means for applying tothe shoe sole pressure substantialiy uniform per unit of area, andsubstantially rigid means between the sole and said pressure applyingmeans, said rigid means having on its sole engaging face a contourcorresponding substantially to that which it is desired to impart tothe'sole, said engaging face having a slightly greater-transversecurvature than the 5 a member having a surface contour correspond- .ingto that which it is desired to impart to the '15 shoe sole but of morepronounced curvature at marginal portions thereof than the shoe sole isto have, said marginal portions being yieldable relatively to theremainder of the member under pressure to cause the member to correspondto the desired shape of the sole, and applying pressure between theshoeand said member while said member is yieldingly supported to causethe marginal portions of the member to yield and the shape of saidmember after so yielding to be imparted to at least the shank andforepart of the sole.

23. That improvement in methods of shaping the bottoms of shoes whichconsists in providing a member having a surface corresponding to theshape that it is desired to impart to the shoe sole but having a morepronounced curvature at its margin than the shoe sole is to have, saidmargins being yieldable under pressure to cause the member to assume thedesired shape of the 1 sole, and applying pressure which is uniformper-unit of area to said member to cause the shape of the'member to beimparted to the shoe sole, the resistance of said margins to yieldingcausing greater pressure to be applied to the margins 40 of the solethan to its central portion.

24. That improvement in methods of shaping shoe bottoms which includesapplying to the bottom of a shoe an intaglio mold or matrix composed ofmolded semi-rigid material, corresponding in shape to the bottom of asample shoe like the shoe which is being operated on, and having itsmarginal portion more yielding than its central portion, and pressingthe shoe bottom and the mold together while the mold is sup- 5o portedby yielding material.

25. A sole pressing device comprising a sheet of hard rubber in ahighstate of vulcanization to render the same semi-rigid and resilient, saidsheet being shaped on one face to orrespond to the shape of the shoebottom.

SIDNEY J. FINN.

